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Wednesday, March 14

ORLANDO, Fla. – Coming off a T-2nd finish on Sunday, 14-time major champion Tiger Woods will return to compete this week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The LPGA Tour this week kicks off the domestic portion of its schedule with the Bank of Hope Founders Cup in Arizona. This is the first of three consecutive weeks of events being staged by the Tour, including the first professional golf major of 2018 in two weeks at the ANA Inspiration (March 29-April 1).

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J., USA, and ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – The USGA and The R&A have unveiled the new Rules of Golf, to be implemented January 1, 2019.

The USGA and The R&A finalized golf’s new Rules this month after an extensive review that included a request for feedback from the global golf community on the proposed changes. Golfers can now access the official 2019 Rules of Golf by visiting RandA.org or usga.org/rules.

The process to modernize the Rules began in 2012 and was initiated to ensure that the Rules are easier to understand and apply for all golfers and to make the game more attractive and accessible for newcomers.

While the majority of proposed Rules remain intact in the final version, several important changes to the initial proposals and further clarification of many Rules were incorporated. The most significant adjustments made following review of the feedback received from golfers around the world include:

Dropping procedure: When taking relief (from an abnormal course condition or penalty area, for example), golfers will now drop from knee height. This will ensure consistency and simplicity in the dropping process while also preserving the randomness of the drop. (Key change: the proposed Rules released in 2017 suggested dropping from any height).

Measuring in taking relief: The golfer’s relief area will be measured by using the longest club in his/her bag (other than a putter) to measure one club-length or two club-lengths, depending on the situation, providing a consistent process for golfers to establish his/her relief area. (Key change: the proposed Rules released in 2017 suggested a 20-inch or 80-inch standard measurement.)

Removing the penalty for a double hit: The penalty stroke for accidentally striking the ball more than once in the course of a stroke has been removed. Golfers will simply count the one stroke they made to strike the ball. (Key change: the proposed Rules released in 2017 retained the existing one-stroke penalty).

Balls Lost or Out of Bounds: Alternative to Stroke and Distance: A new Local Rule will now be available in January 2019, permitting committees to allow golfers the option to drop the ball in the vicinity of where the ball is lost or out of bounds (including the nearest fairway area), under a two-stroke penalty. It addresses concerns raised at the club level about the negative impact on pace of play when a player is required to go back under stroke and distance. The Local Rule is not intended for higher levels of play, such as professional or elite level competitions. (Key change: this is a new addition to support pace of play.)

Major proposals introduced in 2017 that have been incorporated into the modernized Rules include:

Elimination or reduction of “ball moved” penalties: There will be no penalty for accidentally moving a ball on the putting green or in searching for a ball; and a player will not be responsible for causing a ball to move unless it is “virtually certain” that he or she did so.

Relaxed putting green rules: There will be no penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits an unattended flagstick in the hole; players may putt without having the flagstick attended or removed. Players may repair spike marks and other damage made by shoes, animal damage and other damage on the putting green and there is no penalty for merely touching the line of putt.

Relaxed rules for “penalty areas” (currently called “water hazards”):Red- and yellow-marked penalty areas may cover areas of desert, jungle, lava rock, etc., in addition to areas of water; expanded use of red penalty areas where lateral relief is allowed; and there will be no penalty for moving loose impediments or touching the ground or water in a penalty area.

Relaxed bunker rules: There will be no penalty for moving loose impediments in a bunker or for generally touching the sand with a hand or club. A limited set of restrictions (such as not grounding the club right next to the ball) is kept to preserve the challenge of playing from the sand; however, an extra relief option is added for an unplayable ball in a bunker, allowing the ball to be played from outside the bunker with a two-stroke penalty.

Relying on player integrity: A player’s “reasonable judgment” when estimating or measuring a spot, point, line, area or distance will be upheld, even if video evidence later shows it to be wrong; and elimination of announcement procedures when lifting a ball to identify it or to see if it is damaged.

Pace-of-play support: Reduced time for searching for a lost ball (from five minutes to three); affirmative encouragement of “ready golf” in stroke play; recommending that players take no more than 40 seconds to play a stroke and other changes intended to help with pace of play.

Embed from Getty ImagesThis is the first in a series on players from the 1971 Q-School. Nearly a half century later John Coyne tracked down Allen Miller, Lanny Wadkins, Leonard Thompson, Sam Adams, John Mahaffey, Steve Melnyk and Spike Kelly. How had pro golf and life turned out for these seven men?By John Coyne

Thursday, March 8

From a Golf Channel press release.ORLANDO, Fla. – The PGA TOUR returns to Florida this week for the Valspar Championship as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy make their first appearances in the event, joined by a strong international field featuring Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and defending champion Adam Hadwin. The PGA TOUR Champions’ Toshiba Classic returns to the schedule after a one year hiatus. Jay Haas is the defending champion from the 2016 Toshiba Classic, when he became the second-oldest winner in Tour history at age 62. The European Tour heads to India for the Indian Open, a co-sanctioned event between the European Tour and the Asian Tour.PGA TOUR

THE POLAR ICE CAPS ARE MELTING and apparently so is the once frosty relationship between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Listen to Tiger talk about Phil's win at the WGC-Mexico Championship. He is practically gushing. It even sounds like he was watching on Sunday, knowing what Phil did on the closing holes. Knock me over with a feather.

UPDATE: More below from Phil's interview on the Dan Patrick Show.
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"We've gotten pretty close over the last couple of years," Phil said, "with the team events and his great leadership that he's had as a vice captain at the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup. ... We've been pulling hard for each other."

"This recognition is another reason to continue demonstrating that with perseverance and love for what you do you can become what you propose. Thank you, Barbie."

LPGA.com also reported: "The Ochoa doll is one of 14 modern-day role models created through Barbie’s Shero program, which are designed to inspire the next generation of girls. Since her retirement from professional golf in 2007, Ochoa has devoted her life to her family and growing the game of golf in her home country of Mexico."

Wednesday, March 7

IMAGINE IF THE USGA HAD BEEN USING the new two-hole aggregate playoff throughout U.S. Open history instead of the 18-hole playoff (and earlier the 36-hole playoff).That's what veteran golf writer Gary Van Sickle did in a clever piece for MORNING READ.Sickle rewrote U.S. Open history based on the two-hole playoff. It turns out that bridesmaid Sam Snead won the U.S. Open after all. Sorry, there was no miracle at Merion for Ben Hogan. Arnold Palmer recovered from his epic collapse to edge Billy Casper at the Olympic Club. And more.Here's one fun snippet from Van Sickle's revisionist history:

Amateur hour … almost: The best underdog story that never was belonged to caddie-turned-amateur Francis Ouimet. He beat long odds to wind up in the 1913 U.S. Open playoff against two of golf’s biggest names, Britons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. If the 21-year-old kid would’ve knocked off those kingpins, he might have been hailed as the father of amateur golf in America. Instead, the two-hole playoff format meant Ray was eliminated by the third hole. Ouimet gamely took Vardon to the sixth, where his par wasn’t good enough to beat Vardon’s birdie. Ouimet won a pair of U.S. Amateurs and played in eight Walker Cups, but he missed his chance at what could’ve been the greatest game ever played, had he won.

Thursday, March 1

ORLANDO, Fla. – This week NBC Sports Group kicks off its five-week stretch of exclusive PGA TOUR coverage leading up to the Masters, with more than 20 hours of live coverage at the WGC-Mexico Championship airing across Golf Channel and NBC. The 65-man field features 45 of the top-50 in the world, including Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose.

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